1
as in cerebral
much given to learning and thinking
as the daughter of college professors, she's used to being around intellectual people
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in internal
of or relating to the mind
intellectual pursuits such as reading and studying
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3
as in educational
of or relating to schooling or learning especially at an advanced level
research that shows that people from very intellectual backgrounds are happiest with spouses having comparable educations
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in nerd
a person with strong intellectual interests
discovered that in politics a reputation for being an intellectual was regarded as a liability
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of intellectual
Amanda Ogle, Travel + Leisure, 26 Apr. 2025
Harvard has in recent years failed to live up to both the intellectual and civil rights conditions thatjustify federal investment.
—Kayla Jimenez, USA Today, 23 Apr. 2025
Nicole Kliest, Vogue, 10 Mar. 2025
And back in 2010, a MoMA retrospective featured a catalogue in which Wiseman’s work was praised by artists and intellectuals outside the documentary realm.
—Jordan Mintzer, HollywoodReporter, 24 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for intellectual
Adjective
Known as an intellectual society, the freethinkers advocated for equal rights, the abolition of slavery, and rejected secession.
—Amanda Ogle, Travel + Leisure, 26 Apr. 2025
Harvard has in recent years failed to live up to both the intellectual and civil rights conditions thatjustify federal investment.
—Kayla Jimenez, USA Today, 23 Apr. 2025
Noun
The property was originally built by a philosopher and theologian as a retreat for artists and intellectuals, and is now famous for hosting the G7 summit in 2015 and 2022.
—Nicole Kliest, Vogue, 10 Mar. 2025
And back in 2010, a MoMA retrospective featured a catalogue in which Wiseman’s work was praised by artists and intellectuals outside the documentary realm.
—Jordan Mintzer, HollywoodReporter, 24 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for intellectual
Recent Examples of Synonyms for intellectual
Adjective
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His cause of death was revealed to be a cerebral stroke that led to a coma and irreversible cardiocirculatory collapse.—
Escher Walcott,
People.com,
28 Apr. 2025
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Pope Francis died of a cerebral stroke and heart failure on April 21, a day after Easter Sunday, at the age of 88.—
Daniel Kreps,
Rolling Stone,
26 Apr. 2025
Adjective
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Chalk it up to fashion’s relentless hunger for newness, its long-standing obsession with youth — plus a new appreciation for internal mobility, observers say.—
Footwear News,
Footwear News,
5 May 2025
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This demonstration effect served to intimidate potential rivals and solidify internal control.—
Frank Lavin,
Forbes.com,
4 May 2025
Noun
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He’s also been transformed into a stereotypical, lightsaber-brandishing nerd with a wardrobe of wacky T-shirts.—
Amy Nicholson,
Los Angeles Times,
24 Apr. 2025
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The guys who were the heads of the club were track kids; fit, secret nerds.—
Rob Wieland,
Forbes.com,
22 Apr. 2025
Adjective
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The study, sponsored by the Consumer Brands Association, examined academic research, studies and data on country obesity rates, and the short-term and long-term effects in dozens of countries where interpretive food warning labels are in place.—
Hank Cardello,
Forbes.com,
30 Apr. 2025
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The government extended grants to a kaleidoscopic variety of academic efforts that included conducting basic physics experiments, developing materials to enable hypersonic flight, and inventing artificial intelligence algorithms.—
Sarah Kreps,
Foreign Affairs,
29 Apr. 2025
Adjective
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Its inner cage rotates 360 degrees every 16 seconds while a peripheral carriage completes a full turn every minute.—
Paige Reddinger,
Robb Report,
3 May 2025
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This is precisely why people in positions of power must work on achieving inner calmness.—
Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar,
Time,
3 May 2025
Noun
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Deadline asks the Festival chief whether Series Mania is focused on the highbrow of the drama spectrum.—
Stewart Clarke,
Deadline,
6 Mar. 2025
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Wagner would be a sleepless highbrow’s favorite; the long, lush, unbroken lines of music share with the white-noise hum of the air-conditioner or the thrum of the painstaking lecture the quality of being absorbing without offering undue eventfulness.—
Adam Gopnik,
The New Yorker,
20 Jan. 2025
Adjective
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The task has traditionally fallen to curators, who maintain their scholarly independence and grapple with the complexities of mounting shows.—
Zachary Small,
New York Times,
27 Apr. 2025
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But factory-style scholarly productivity was never the essence of the humanities.—
D. Graham Burnett,
New Yorker,
26 Apr. 2025
Adjective
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This definition also includes instance in which the victim is incapable of giving consent because of temporary or permanent mental or physical incapacity (include due to the influence of drugs or alcohol) or because of age.—
Baltimore Sun staff,
Baltimore Sun,
11 Apr. 2025
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The World Health Organization defines burnout as an occupational phenomenon which is characterized by feelings of energy depletion, increased mental distance from one's job, and reduced professional efficacy.—
Daniel R. Depetris,
MSNBC Newsweek,
10 Apr. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Intellectual.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/intellectual. Accessed 12 May. 2025.
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